Cuba: Day 7 - Part 2

Finca Vigia

Our next stop:  Finca Vigia, the house where Ernest Hemingway lived for 21 years and wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea, and A Moveable Feast.  From its hilltop, the house affords a fantastic view of Havana only 10 miles to the northwest.  Tatiana, our talkative and very learnèd guide, explains that Hemingway’s wife-of-the-moment (Martha) wanted to get him away from the bars of the city, and he hated the place in the beginning.

       After the Revolution, and with talk of Castro wanting to nationalize property owned by foreigners, Hemingway moved to Idaho but kept the house. It remains as it was upon his departure, wild game trophies, paintings, furniture... even his deep-sea fishing boat, the Pilar.  He had hopes of coming back, but the house was expropriated after the Bay of Pigs.  It has remained in a time warp, just as he left it, books and all.

       We hear two versions of how it became the property of the Cuban government.  The official one says that Hemingway’s widow Mary signed it over to them in 1961.  The unofficial one says that she had no choice, so yes, she did sign it over, but under duress.  Whichever is the case, at least the house was preserved, rather than being sold and transformed beyond recognition by someone else’s interior decoration.  Today it operates as a Foundation.  (And by the way, there was a group of musicians playing live on the premises.)

View of Havana from Hemingway's terrace

Our return to the Hotel Parque Central feels sort of like a homecoming.  But we’ll be here only two nights.  And tonight is our Havana free night. Dinner on the town at the restaurant of our choice.  Cindy is planning on dining at Dona Eutimia’s, the paladar just outside the Taller printing shop we visited early in our trip.  Ever since that day, I’ve been wanting to try some of their renowned ropa vieja so I’m going along, as are five others.  We walk down through the animated streets, working up an appetite.  The food is excellent and the ropa vieja lives up to its reputation.  Made with lamb instead of the usual beef, it’s the best I’ve ever tasted.
       After dinner, Cindy and I head back to the hotel on foot while the others drive off in classic-car taxis to the Tropicana night club for their show.  I’ve seen the Lido and the Folies Bergère in Paris, so I’m content with the relative quiet of the Havana streets.  Plus a chance to have a conversation with Cindy, who has been so very, very good at this guide/mother hen thing.  She’s one competent lady.

Cathedral of Havana

Hemingway's office

For a look at Hemingway’s house, there’s a video on this link.  You’ll see it as we did, maybe even better, because no one is allowed inside.  Luckily there are a lot of windows and doors:
http://www.hemingwaycuba.com/finca-la-vigia.html